João Afonso da Cruz Correia Proença Mendes

João Afonso Mendes is currently a Research Fellow working on the FlexSolar project, which aims to create high efficiency flexible solar cells using a tandem of perovskite thin films and epitaxial silicon.

He is also finishing his Master thesis for the degree in Micro and Nanotechnology Engineering, under the title “Silicon nanoparticles synthesized by PECVD for solar cell and TFT applications”, at the Department of Materials Science of NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT-NOVA), as well as the laboratory facilities of i3N|CENIMAT and CEMOP/UNINOVA.

Besides this, he was selected to the Climate Innovation Leadership Programme from EIT Climate-KIC in 2021, hosted by Utrecht University and Trinity College Dublin, where he was able to acquire and develop several soft skills including Innovation, Leadership, Systems Thinking, Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurship with the focus on navigating complex systems and taking on a leadership role in combating climate change challenges.

His main academic interests lie in micro and nanomaterials, optoelectronics, photovoltaics, energy, and sustainable materials and technologies. His goal is to leverage his knowledge and passion for science and sustainability to face the challenges of tomorrow, today.